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Matt Keelen, founder and President of the government affairs firm The Keelen Group (TKG), is a widely known and highly regarded lobbyist & political strategist with over twenty years experience. He excels in building relationships with key figures while earning a reputation for consistently delivering hard-earned victories. Bloomberg Government Affairs rated the Keelen Group fourth in their 2015 rating of top performing lobbying firms in the nation. He and his wife Jennifer work together, running TKG as a family business since its inception.

Keelen’s ability to effectively navigate the landscape between legislative policy and political reality has made him a respected, sought after voice, not only in Washington D.C. but around the country. Acknowledged for his innate ability to establish and develop long lasting political relationships, Keelen has dozens of time-tested relationships with Members of Congress, including many who are in positions of considerable influence today. Currently there are over twenty-five members serving in the House and Senate that Keelen assisted in getting onto Capitol Hill, along with two Republican governors.

As a government affairs professional, Keelen has a proven track record of success with his work on the Pension Reform Act of 2005 — standing out as a significant highlight. His ability to access key Congressional Committee’s such as the Ways and Means Committee, the Commerce Committee, the Committee on Small Business, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Committee on Armed Services make Matt Keelen extremely valuable to his clients.

Throughout his career Matt Keelen has been recognized by both his peers and outside observers for his outstanding networking ability and real world political acumen. He was named a “Rising Star of Politics” and was profiled as a “Mover and Shaker” by Campaigns and Elections magazine. The Hill newspaper has also been named Keelen one of the Top 50 Lobbyists in Washington, D.C. the last seven years in a row, and eleven of the last thirteen years.

Keelen’s years of experience and expertise have led to appearances on national programs such as "The Neil Cavuto Show," "Watters' World," “The Kudlow Report,” “Fox & Friends,” “America’s News Headquarters”, “The Rush Limbaugh show," “The John Gibson show,” “The Lou Dobb’s show”, “The Jerry Doyle show”, and countless Fox News political radio affiliates. Some notable Democratic counterparts include Joe Trippi, Juan Williams, Allen Combs, Kirsten Powers, and Anne Lewis. His political commentary publishings can be found in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Hill, Roll Call, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. Moreover, Keelen appeared in the horror movie "Bury Me Twice: A Zombie Film Noir Story." Also, Keelen will soon appear in "The Longest Night" which will begin filming soon.

Before moving into government affairs, Keelen spent 10 years as a political fundraiser and operative. In December 1997, he founded Keelen Communications, a political consulting firm that totaled over 200 political victories. His work for such notable campaigns as Mike Pence for Congress, Paul Ryan for Congress, Roger Wicker for Senate, and Jim DeMint for Senate cemented his status as a top-notch campaign professional.

Matt Keelen’s political skills and performance have been sought after by national political committees and have secured him high level consulting roles at the RNC, NRCC, NRSC, NGA and the Rudy Giuliani and Rick Perry's Presidential campaign.

In 2014, Keelen started a new chapter in his career by executive producing his first full length feature film, “Jimmy’s Jungle,” with his partners American Family Films. The group began collaboration to bring more family friendly entertainment to audiences everywhere. Pre-production has begun on it’s next film, “Christmas Hope."

Keelen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Loyola College in Maryland and a Master’s Degree in Political Management from The George Washington University. He also served as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University where he taught a graduate level course for GWU’s School of Political Management (GSPM).

A native of Ocean Township, N.J., Keelen now resides in Falls Church, VA., with his wife Jennifer, and daughters Riley and Madison.